Ivey’s absence a safety issue

Defensive tackle Travis Ivey respectively declined an interview request Saturday afternoon, saying he’ll wait until he practices. Coach Dennis Allen later said “if” Ivey practices, as the 6-foot-4, 341-pounder has now missed five days of training camp due to being out of shape.

Allen wouldn’t say if Ivey is close to returning, but said that it’s a safety issue keeping him off the field.

“It’s a safety issue as much as it is anything else,” Allen said. “I want to make sure that he’s healthy, in shape, conditioned, his weight is where it needs to be so that if and when he does get out here and start practicing that he doesn’t injure himself.”

The Raiders had a conditioning run last weekend that Ivey didn’t fare well in.

Ivey was signed to the Raiders’ practice squad in December and seemed to be the favorite to replace Big John Henderson on the roster this season. He was on the Browns active roster the last two weeks of the 2010 season — making one appearance — after spending 15 weeks on their practice squad.

Curry gets stem-cell treatments: Starting outside linebacker Aaron Curry, who has also been sidelined the first week of camp, told CSNCalifornia.com that he’s received stem-cell treatments on both both knees. Middle linebacker Rolando McClain received stem-cell therapy on his nagging knee and leg in the offseason and said it helped a lot and he felt batter.

Curry is getting treatment with bone marrow from his hips.

“It’s the only thing that’s helping me recover,” Curry said. “Without it, I’d be a lost cause. For sure. I’m just able to do things that I wasn’t able to quite do in OTAs and minicamps when I was trying to fight through what I thought was just regular soreness or tendinitis.

“It’s a great procedure. Simple, fast, and I’m just excited about being able to bounce back as quick as I am.”